UCC is all the rage these days. In Korea, 37% of college students watch more than 30 minutes of UCC videos daily and half of Internet users have said they've made UCC (UCC is almost synonymous with online video in Korea, but I guess in this case it also includes blog posts).

The UCC craze is also spreading to electronic hardware. Last week, Samsung released a new cell phone dubbed "UCC폰" (제품명 SCH-B750). In addition to being able to record videos in a slightly higher resolution (CIF 352x288) than most other cell phones, it features a basic onboard video editor. Users can shoot, edit and upload in three easy steps. It's supposedly tightly integrated with PandoraTV, Korea's number one video sharing site, making it easy for people on the move to bypass the computer altogether.

Nokia popularized this technology a while back with their N93 line of camcorder-equipped cell phones. And they're making a comeback in this area by having recently purchased a good media storing and sharing site called Twango. (Why can't we have more of these sites that combine diverse media storage with social networking? Even if you use only one company like Google, you still have to keep your photos in PicasaWeb, your videos in YouTube, and your writings in Blogger.)

I think we will see more video phones like these connected to web services in the future. Soon, instead of teenagers taking photos of their favorite singer at a concert and then coming home to upload to their homepage, they'll be able to broadcast a live concert for their friends at home using nothing but their cell phones.

Advances in video technology are nothing short of amazing. There are now hard disk camcorders than can record over 40 hours of video and HD (hi definition) camcorders that cost only a fraction of what they used to cost just a few years ago. To show just how far and fast we've come, here's a look back at a Kodak video projector ad from the days of black & white TV - this is how people used to watch home videos before VCRs and DVDs, and now Web video.

[video from Stage6.com]

Daum is trying to create a stir these days by prominently featuring the term UCC all over the front page of their portal. There are links to 유쾌한 UCC 검색! (their search engine),  와우! 동영상 UCC (their TVpot video site) and UCC 투데이 (a new service dedicated to all things UCC called Daum UCC세상). They also overhauled their blog and cafe platform not so long ago by introducing the UCC Edition emphasizing photos and videos. Naver, too, introduced Season 2, Episode 2 of their popular blogging service, finally introducing the long overdue html editor and enabling better photo and video blogging.

Daum's TVpot is also attracting a lot of users these days, perhaps even overtaking PandoraTV in visitors numbers/video plays according to some statistics. It might partly have to do with the numerous UCC contests they're rolling out. Major portal sites are not alone in sponsoring UCC contests. The Ministry of Culture recently had a UCC contest. And right now (July 25-26), an institute called 국가기록원 (in conjunction with Cyworld) is having a contest called 기록 愛 UCC 공모전. I'm embedding their promotional video below because the topic seems interesting. (I hope they don't mind my "borrowing" their video - it's for educational purposes and I'm giving them free promotion)

I found it odd that the contest categories are digital videos and images relating to the theme of 기록 and yet the people featured in the video all use analog formats of recording: letters, diaries and newspaper clippings. I was also reminded that log in the word "blog" (web + log) means record or 기록 in Korean, and that a blog can encompass diverse text records such as diary entries and news clippings, as well as multimedia recordings such as audio lectures, vacation photos and home videos. There will always be people who cherish the analog world, but the human passion to create and collect that also drives our digital life doesn't seem all that different.

Starting from yesterday, major Korean portals Naver and Daum have begun disallowing anonymous comments on their sites. Other, smaller sites will follow suit in a month or so. Read about it here (Korean).

This is a big change in Korean Internet culture. The new policy is aimed at cutting down on the increasing number of defamatory comments left by people who hide behind anonymity. We've all heard about defamatory comments leading to lawsuits and even suicides.

Requiring you to register with your "citizen number" and stamping every word you write with your name will definitely reduce the number of demeaning remarks (and maybe even comment-spam!), but it will also discourage user participation in general and, to a degree, limit freedom of speech.

What if you have some emotional problems and you want some advice from your online peers? If you have to tell the entire world who you really are, you're less likely to speak up. Or, maybe you want to say something and have it considered for the view it expresses in itself - strong political or religious views, for example - without the entire neighborhood or parish knowing about it.

The big question is, what happens when search engines collect data by commenter names? One can imagine a situation where a cyber-stalker tracks down all of your comments and the websites they belong to. It's like following your footsteps and eavesdropping on every word. Or your boss finds questionable websites you frequent and uses that information in ways that can hurt your career.

Because Korea is a small, homogeneous country where everybody knows everybody, people have sometimes found solace and freedom in anonymity when they go online. But with all good things, there are those who abuse that freedom for unseemly purposes, and now the irresponsible behavior of some has led to a nationwide "soft" censorship. Now more than ever, people will have to decide between privacy and participation, between silence and speech.